Learning to live with chronic pain and illness gracefully

Back on the Weight Watchers Wagon

Moderately frustrated with health issues lately: I have a persistent, low-grade stomach bug which is making life somewhat unpleasant and is worrying me a bit. I have had some sinus unhappiness that is lingering. My ankle has good days and bad days, which limits what exercise I can do. And lack of exercise has put on a few more pounds, which is way too many. My last weigh-in at the doc’s shocked me a bit- I know that there’s a big difference between weighing yourself at home first thing in the morning and being weighed at the end of the day, but still. This is the doc who said “focus on exercise and the weight will take care of itself”, but lack of cardio is definitely an issue, so I decided to get back on Weight Watchers to control my eating until I can exercise regularly again.

I had a lot of success with WW back in 2004 when I lost 25 pounds in four months. Of course, I also lived alone and was very active. I have tried it once or twice since then but it did not stick. Since there have been some changes to the program and I have added motivation, I’m hoping for some lasting results this time around. To fund my monthly online subscription, I gave up my World of Warcraft account- I’m just not playing it and need to spend more time exercising anyway.

So, a few starting changes: tracking my intake again, no more coffeeshop, and stretching EVERY DAY. This is as much for my RA as weight loss since my stiffness is creeping up since physical therapy ended- I really need to stick to that. My starting goals are for my clothes to fit better and for my next weigh-in at the doctor’s office to be under 200 lbs. I’ve tried this goal before without success- this time I’m hoping WW will get me there.

I admit to being worried about my fatigue- it’s been bad the last couple of weeks (as in: go home and rest before I can do anything else, and sometimes I can’t do anything else). Cutting back calories will exacerbate that, but carrying less weight will help, so hopefully that will balance out. In good news my joint aggravation from using my cane has eased up some and I am trying to use it less- stretching is helping that as well. Another busy week or two at work to get through- whee.

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7 Responses

Welcome back to WW! I always found tracking discouraging; my only New Year’s resolution has been to use eTools and track every time I sit down at the computer! Recording everything will help me eat less and exercise more. They say that if you do anything for 21 days, it becomes a habit – I have 2 more days to go! How not to become discouraged – working my way down gradually from ‘way exceeding my weekly “bonus” points to meeting them, and seeing how much I lose a week.

I think my next goal will be to do SOME exercise every day, even if it’s 3-minute warmups from the Gilad web site.

Since I sit in front a computer most of the day anyway online tracking is very convenient for me. I’m hoping to dip into my bonus points as little as possible- I have it set up so I “spend” my activity points first. Since I’m trying to stretch 20-30 minutes every day that gives me 1 or 2 extra points a day. I also gave up my daily can of Mountain dew at lunch and am drinking Coke Zero instead- not as fruity but doesn’t have the awful aftertaste of most diet drinks. (This also helps me avoid caffeine headaches from cutting out my daily chai!)

My sister just started on WW and is doing well. It’s her first try at dieting, she was always a skinny mini but gained about 50 lbs in the last 5 years. WW is always my fall back, and I’m thinking of signing up for it on-line. I hate going to those meetings, everyone is so cheerful and bouncy…I hate that! Streching sounds good….maybe I’ll try that too.
mo

I tried meetings in the past- once with a not-great group (I did not feel welcome), and the second time with a really good group but a rough schedule for me, so that’s why I’m doing online again. I think it’s a great program, but I had to get to the point that i really wanted to do it- if you don’t want it, it won’t work, no matter what it is!